First young people begin work under Jobs Guarantee scheme

The first cohort of young people have started work through the Government’s Jobs Guarantee scheme as part of work to address high youth unemployment.

The scheme sees Government match 18 to 24 year-olds who have been claiming Universal Credit for 18 months with paid work placements. Placements are fully funded by Government for up to 25 hours per week for six months. More than 90,000 young people are expected to be supported into work through the scheme over the next three years.

The Jobs Guarantee has initially been rolled out in areas with some of the highest levels of youth unemployment, including in Greater Manchester, before expanding nationwide later this year.

Retailer Boots among the first employers to begin taking on workers through the scheme. Anthony Hemmerdinger, Managing Director of Boots UK and Ireland, said:

“We’re pleased to create opportunities for young people to secure work placements in our stores, offices and warehouses through the Jobs Guarantee.

“Boots has a strong track record in supporting young people through our graduate schemes, work experience programmes, apprenticeships and youth employability partnership with The King’s Trust. We firmly believe that retail can play an important role in supporting young people to develop the confidence, experience, and skills that can shape their working lives.”

Local delivery partners will work with employers to match young people into roles and provide ongoing support to help placements succeed.

The Jobs Guarantee is part of the Government’s wider £2.5 billion youth employment investment which will support almost one million young people and open up 500,000 opportunities to earn or learn over three years.

It comes alongside other incentives for business worth up to £8,000 for eligible young people and reforms to the apprenticeship system to address the 40% drop in apprenticeship starts over the past decade.